I wanted to take this moment to put in a link to a story that disturbs me tremendously, and it is why while I like the Chiefs, while I even like NFL football -- I can't stand the NFL itself and the media apparatus that animates its foolishness.
As I've shared before I really work hard to avoid looking at news stories about anything professional football, sports, or even Chiefs for that very reason. But I couldn't help but catch this story from a link in a news site:
"Cowboys Save NFL From Ratings Disaster, With Super Bowl in Sight"
I just feel obligated to post about this, as I've done a few times before, just to point out how much this phenomenon compromises competitive integrity. I've known this for years, since the 1994 baseball strike when I discovered how immense the effects of free agency and other advantages given to larger market and media darling teams distort the honest integrity of competition in professional sports. Furthermore everyone with an interest in the success of a given sports league have a hand in hoping these teams win more because it means more success for their individual teams even if they don't do well because there is more success for the overall league.
In other words, what's good for the New York Yankees is good for baseball.
Or in this instance, what's good for the Dallas Cowboys is good for football.
Conspiracy theorist detractors ("Oh that's just tin-foil hat-wearing crazy talk...") will always dismiss claims that sports leagues do anything directly to affect competitive integrity on the field, and in some cases they have a point, but not in all cases.
The most glaring example of the way outcomes can be affected expressly because of the "Dallas Cowboys success will rescue the NFL" philosophy is by officiating. How many examples can be cited? I think anyone who's been paying attention and understands the nature of this situation can mention several. One that cannot be ignored happened sure enough in favor of the Cowboys in the playoffs two years ago.
Just as leagues like it when home teams win -- home team fans are more willing to shell out big bucks when their efforts are rewarded, leagues like it when large market or media darling teams win.
What if you were a Dallas Cowboys fan, would you be happy with this phenomenon? I wouldn't. I really would like my team to win based on the merits.
Or to put it another way, what if there was a headline that said, "Chiefs Save NFL, Looking Toward Super Bowl", I'd hate it. At first I'd love it! Woo-hoo! Chiefs are liked by everyone! Chiefs will get some advantages somewhere to help them out so I can feel really good about their winning things! But then...
What's the point of that?
At that point it just becomes WWE Wrestling. Who cares. We didn't really win it, we won it because we have the most fans, the most media attention, the most propaganda favoring us just to get more dollars in the hands of the powers-that-be.
So the Cowboys are rescuing the NFL, that's nice, what about the other teams?
In a sense, they're just the Washington Generals playing the Harlem Globetrotters. Sure ESPN and all the pundits everywhere in the sports media world talk up teams like the Chiefs, Lions, Texans, Dolphins, Seahawks, and Falcons but the powers-that-be desperately don't want any of these teams getting to the Super Bowl.
They're slavering for the Cowboys to get in (see Bloomberg report) but would fall over themselves if they could play the Giants (large market) or Packers (media darling) in the NFC championship game. Over in the AFC they would love to see the Patriots (another large market) and Steelers (another media darling) in the championship game because the ratings would be terrific.
If it isn't the Cowboys then any of those Super Bowl match-ups would do them well: Patriots-Giants (again), Packers-Steelers, how about this one: Patriots-Packers -- Brady vs. Rodgers, nirvana! But a Super Bowl with the Chiefs and Falcons? Are you kidding me?
Now please, I do believe that there is enough competitive integrity to allow for the games to progress as they should. But honestly? I think for the Chiefs to win they have to dominate a given game, or some charmed thing must happen to get them a win that no one can deny, not even the referees.
Thing is, in some twisted way, yes, this is why I'm a Chiefs fan.
I'm a Chiefs fan because it is a way to authentically live out a genuine fandom outside the underhanded machinations of the NFL and its exploitive business-media apparatus. My team may lose and it may even be in part because of the desired outcomes going against it.
But at least it is real.
Ironically the NFL knows that too. Should the Cowboys raise the Vince Lombardi trophy in February but we all know it happened in part because that is exactly how the NFL needed it to be -- so it could be "rescued"-- it doesn't do anybody any favors, not Cowboys fans, not the fans of other teams knowing they'd been had, not anybody who senses competitive integrity has been manipulated in some way.
As it is, I'm just reveling in the Chiefs fine play, enjoying their No. 2 seed for a nice two weeks, feeling good about their fine chances of having a nice playoff run and listening to all the sweet nothings whispered in our ears by those who think they have legitimately good team. They do have a good team, they do.
Here's to the conception that their fine play and only their play and character and teamwork and winning form will make the NFL a good thing, that'd be nice.
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(A more comprehensive on-the-field actual-football game preview coming up!)
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